If Only
Summary: You own a small esoteric shop where you sell incense, energy crystals, etc. But no one knows that you also practice alchemy and enjoy experimenting with potions. One day, a small mistake will turn your life and someone else's upside down.
Warnings: Love potion, Idiots in love(?, Fluff and corny, Inaccurate information about alchemy or tarot, English isn't my first language, No proofread, Love confession, Fem reader, Y/n use, Thunderbolts spoilers (it's been a month but just in case), The group protecting Bob, Long plot/fic
Wc: 7k (so sorry! 😭)
A/n: Yep, this is inspired by the Descendants song "If Only" (and a little bit by the movie itself). I don't know why I'm mentioning this, I think it's pretty obvious lol
Dividers credit: @rookthornesartistry and @sister-lucifer
You sat comfortably behind the mahogany counter, waiting for new customers, tapping your fingers to the rhythm of an imaginary song. Your small shop was warm and comforting, the walls made of dark wood to absorb heat and repel annoying noises. Potted thistles and pothos hung in the entrance, and every time someone opened the door, the melodic tinkling of an angel caller could be heard.
The walls were decorated with pictures of motivational quotes and dreamcatchers of all colors and sizes. Several shelves were filled with quartz, amethyst, and other crystals, as well as some Buddhas. On the floor, a large burgundy Persian rug with intricate gold and turquoise details. Anyone would have thought they were in a witch's cave. You laughed at that thought. But in truth, maybe they were right. Could alchemy be considered magic, or was it just science? You'd heard of many alchemist witches, more in stories than in real life.
If that was the case, you were more than happy to be a witch—a good one, that is. One who found gratification in helping others and experimenting with glittery liquids and powders, just for fun. That's what you were doing when the metallic sound of the angel caller caught your attention. You straightened up and looked at the door. A man with wavy brown hair wearing a blue sweatshirt and camel-colored corduroy pants walked through.
He first looked around in admiration, as if he were in an aquarium. That reaction was very common; every customer did the same thing, and you liked it. Then he settled his gaze on you, noticing your presence. He approached hesitantly, his hands in his pockets. He seemed shy, but he smiled politely and in a friendly way.
"Hello! Welcome to the house of the lady in red. What can I do for you?" you said kindly with your best smile
The man looked at you confused and before he could say anything, you sensed his question "The lady in red is a character in alchemy and has to do with tarot too" you clarified and winked at him knowingly
He let out an exclamation of understanding as he nodded several times, still smiling, then looked down at the counter, searching for something. "Well, I was looking for incense, if you have any..."
"Of course! They're right here." You then headed to a small counter with several shelves one under the other where boxes full of incense could be seen at first glance. The brown-haired man followed you and stared, mesmerized, unable to decide.
You decided to help him. "Were you looking for something in particular? I have mint, vanilla, coconut, myrrh. Which do you prefer?"
He just shrugged, giving a low, nervous laugh. "I don't really know much about these things. I don't know, whichever smells the best?"
You smiled at his lost attitude, it was sweet "Okay, let's do this, I'll give you some samples to smell and you decide which one you like best, does that sound okay?"
The man seemed relieved and smiled gratefully at your suggestion, agreeing. You handed him the incense sticks one by one, and with each sample, he gently held them to his nose and inhaled deeply with his eyes closed, letting the scent penetrate his subconscious and enjoying the soft notes of the fragrance. Finally, a little dizzy from smelling so many incense sticks, he decided on a six-pack: two mint, two jasmine, and two orange.
"Excellent choice"
You took the scented sticks and placed them in a brown paper bag with a small card inside. You sealed the bag tightly while he watched your hands working quickly but gently. With a smile, you handed him the bag.
"Do you have a stand to put the incense sticks on?" you asked suddenly.
He was perplexed by the simple but sudden question. "Uh, to be honest, no" he replied embarrassed.
"Oh, don't worry, there's a solution for that. I also sell the stands, but since it's your first purchase, you'll get it as a gift. Consider it a courtesy."
The man with dark blue eyes smiled pleased "Thank you very much, that's very kind of you."
You waved your hand as if shooing away a fly, dismissing it as unimportant. He took his wallet out of his pants and paid. You wished him a good day, and he said goodbye as he left the store. You watched him walk past the glass window to the right until he left your field of vision. That man had left a lovely feeling in your body, similar to the warmth radiated by the energy crystals in your store, only this energy knew how to speak, and he had silkier hair and softer, bluer eyes. You sincerely hoped you'd made a good impression on him and wanted to see him more often.
Bob, for his part, walked down the street, clutching the paper bag still imbued with your scent. He felt a little dizzy, and not exactly from the effects of having smelled so many incense sticks—no, that feeling had passed. But what you had caused in him, not. Your smile and your kindness had left him stunned. He'd met many people in his life, but hardly any as polite and kind as you, especially to a stranger like him.
When he arrived at the tower by the elevator that stopped at the top floor his friends were already waiting for him there, gathered, watching a large screen that showed outer space.
"Zoom in progressively to the top left corner," Yelena ordered an artificial intelligence.
On the screen you could see a supernova but not much else.
"Okay, it seems there is no news" bucky said
At that moment Bob walked closer to them, he was so quiet that almost no one noticed his presence, it wasn't until Alexei greeted him shouting "Hey! Bob, man! What do you have there? Lunch?"
Yelena and Bucky turned to look at him and now all eyes were on him, Bob felt a little self-conscious and gulped "Uhm no, no. It's just a couple of incense sticks, I thought it would be a good idea to make the tower smell nice"
Everyone looked at him in amazement and Yelena made an indifferent face "Fine, as long as you don't choke us with the smoke"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll put one in my room to start with."
And with that, he headed to his room while the others continued with their tasks. Suddenly, Alexei became thoughtful.
"Wait, he didn't mean me, did he? I know I sometimes clog the toilet, but..."
Ava looked at him with the best disgusted face she could muster.
- - - - - - - - - - -
In his room, Bob grabbed a lighter and lit the orange incense, placing it in the holder you had given him. Immediately, the entire room was filled with a pleasant, sweet, citrusy scent. Bob closed his eyes and let the perfume fill his lungs, smiling contentedly. The smell reminded him of summer afternoons, fruit salads, and fields. He could almost taste the orange on his palate. In a good mood, he began to take out the other incense sticks to organize and store them when his fingers touched something at the bottom of the paper bag. When he took it out, he realized it was the card you had put inside. It read the name of your store, adorned with drawings of laurels entangled with roses, and underneath, a dedication.
《Thank you for shopping at "The House of the Lady in Red" Please come back soon, I love having you here!》
XOXO
Bob read and reread the card several times. He told himself that the card and those words on it were simply a form of good manners and part of your work ethic, and that you gave them to each of your clients. But for some reason, they felt personal to him, as if you had dedicated them specifically to him and no one else.
The blue-eyed brown-haired man took this as an invitation to return to your shop with the excuse of buying more incense or something else. Although he would soon run out of excuses, he didn't care; as long as he saw you again, he would invent anything.
The days passed, and Bob always excused himself from the tower to go buy more incense (even though he still had plenty). The group complained every time he went out.
"You ran out so fast? You just bought a dozen two days ago!" John yelled
"Yeah, and the smoke's starting to make my eyes sting and I cough!" Said Ava
"And I think I developed a mild allergy to the smell of roses" Bucky sneezed.
Each teammate said something against Bob's purchases, but he ignored them and headed out to your shop. You were already sorting through some crystals and replacing pendulums, secretly longing to see that handsome man from the other day again. So far, only an old woman with a noisy poodle and some curious teenagers had appeared through that door, but there was no sign of the brown-haired man.
Suddenly, out of your peripheral vision, you saw him approaching through the window, his eyes on his shoes. In your impatience, you almost dropped a tiger's eye crystal, which you caught before it hit the floor. As he entered, this time, his gaze fell directly on you, and his smile widened. You immediately felt your heart flutter, unable to stop it.
"Good morning, how nice to have you back here" you said without thinking
Her face flinched slightly with a pink blush and you realized that what you said might have sounded too kind, you bit your tongue and quickly added "What are you going to buy today?" you said still smiling
"Incense, again" he laughed.
Oh, what a sweet laugh! It could have made a baby smile. You nodded and headed to the sideboard, and he followed you like last time, even though it wasn't necessary since he already knew where things were. Lately, he discovered he loved being around you.
"Can I recommend a new one today?" you asked politely.
He nodded vigorously. "Yes, please."
You returned to the counter and pulled a large box of new incense out of a drawer. You thrust three into his hand. "These just arrived today; they're lemon, sandalwood, and linden. The last two are very good for clearing bad energies."
You waited patiently for him to finish smelling them and then with a shy smile on the side, he replied, "Then I'll take those, I trust you."
You smiled, pleased with his confidence in you. You put everything back in the same brown paper bag as before, and when you placed the card inside, he pointed at it. "I really like the card.."
"Really? Thanks! It's handmade!" you said with enthusiasm and joy since no one had noticed until now.
"Oh then you have very nice handwriting" he said slowly
You blushed slightly, looking down and smiling as you shrugged and thanked him. Bob thought it was cute that he was able to make you blush for the first time and how your cheeks looked like apples. You said goodbye, and both of you spent the afternoon thinking about each other.
The days passed, and his visits became more frequent, so much so that you already knew what he was going to buy and always asked, "The same as always?" Although sometimes you recommended buying something else, not because you wanted to get more money from him, but because you both realized that the excuse of visiting you to buy more incense no longer held water.
Even those in the tower were starting to get suspicious. It was unusual for Bob to go out so much, since he'd often made it clear he preferred to stay inside. So that only meant one thing: he'd met someone.
"Who is it? Come on tell me!, who is it?"
Suddenly, Bob's private life became a topic of conversation in the tower, and every time they asked him about it, he covered his ears in shock and went to his room, huffing and puffing in irritation. Bob didn't want to talk to them about you; he'd only earn the others' ridicule, and even if it wasn't with bad intentions, he knew they wouldn't leave him alone for a few weeks. When he lay down on his bed, exhausted, the memory of when he dared to ask you your name crossed his mind. He felt it like a great achievement, a step forward.
He fiddled with his fingers more nervously than usual as he watched you put a deck of tarot cards in your bag. Bob didn't know what to buy anymore to keep seeing you, so he had the stupid idea of hesitantly choosing a deck of tarot cards. What did he need them for? He had no idea how to use them, he had been a fool. But you patiently and lovingly taught him everything he needed to know.
"They're a form of divination; you simply shuffle the deck, ask a question, and pick a card. Depending on what comes up, you'll interpret it based on your question. The deck comes with instructions, though."
He nodded, trying to pay attention to your explanation, but you noticed his gaze was lost. When he was about to leave he swallowed and scratched his forehead, closing his eyes. "Hey, sorry to ask, but what's your name?"
You definitely weren't expecting that question but it didn't surprise you "Y/n, and yours?"
"Bob, I mean Robert, but you can call me Bob!"
You smiled "Alright, see you Bob"
Bob thought that day that your name was as beautiful as your person and that it suited you perfectly. Meanwhile, you were in the back of your shop, which served as an alchemy workshop. On the large table were funnels, thin, elongated flasks, and a small black cauldron where a fuchsia liquid was boiling. Fat bubbles slowly and thickly broke on the surface. You stood up, taking a grimoire-like recipe book from your library. There you had written down a bunch of potions you had successfully experimented with, along with their respective ingredients.
Potions to cure the flu, potions that make you always tell the truth, etc. Everything was written down there. But today you decided to create something new. You still didn't know what it would be or what it would be for, but it was all trial and error. You took a pair of tweezers and grabbed crushed bay leaves from a jar and added them to the cauldron. You did the same with four drops of seawater, a spoonful of honey, and other ingredients. But every now and then your mind wandered to memories of Bob's visits to your shop, or his face floated into your consciousness. Distracted by these thoughts, you accidentally spilled a small bottle of rosewater. You gasped and uttered a small curse under your breath. Well, you were experimenting anyway; you just hoped it wouldn't upset the mixture too much. Suddenly, the liquid began to change color, from pink to fiery red and then to a bluish violet. It looked like a kaleidoscope of colors. You leaned closer to take a closer look, and when you did, a small explosion erupted from inside, filling everything with white, glittery smoke. How strange.
Now the air had a woody smell, a mixture of musk and honey. You hoped you wouldn't have an allergic reaction or any symptoms from inhaling that smoke. You added the new potion to a small, square bottle with an eyedropper and examined it closely. It was a bright violet, and when you shook it, golden and pink sparkles swirled around slowly and ethereally, resembling a galaxy.
"Okay, now have to test it."
You put a cork in the bottle's cap and slipped it into your jacket pocket. You didn't label it because you didn't yet know what it would be used for; you were thinking about who to use the potion for. You couldn't drink it because if it caused any untoward side effects, you might not be able to remedy them immediately. For example, if your hands developed blisters, you wouldn't be able to handle the most delicate alchemical objects. And if you developed three tails? How would you serve customers like that? No, it's better not to even think about it.
What if... maybe? No, no, too risky, you'd never forgive yourself for it. But... you had to try it on someone, and who better than Bob? Of course you couldn't tell him, you'd have to make up any excuse, anyway the effects were never that serious, nothing you couldn't solve.
So the next day it was no surprise when you saw Bob with his big smile and his eyes fixed on you when he passed through that door, you were already expecting him.
"Hi!" He said timidly
"Hi" you replied smiling
"I think you know what I'm buying today," he laughed softly.
You laughed, but you felt nervous. You had the little bottle of potion in your pocket, and your fingers nervously brushed the cold packaging. You bit your lip, considering what you were going to say.
"Listen uh, I was thinking about selling new products in the store, and I've been experimenting with concoctions. Nothing too complicated..."
You noticed Bob looking at you confused so you hurried to take the bottle out of your pocket "Look, it's for drinking, it's like a detox, it's good for the kidneys" you lied a little blushing
He took the little bottle and examined it carefully. "What a beautiful color!" he exclaimed, dazzled, seeing the small galaxy inside the liquid.
"It's edible food coloring and glitter." You felt bad lying so blatantly, especially to someone as good as Bob, but in this case the truth would be worse.
He was about to put it away to drink later when you stopped him a little abruptly. "Would you mind drinking it now? It's a new product and I want to know what it tastes like since I haven't been able to drink it myself yet."
"Sure" he shrugged
He uncapped the bottle and drank it in one gulp. At first, he wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips slightly. "It's a little sour."
You wanted the earth to swallow you up as you grimaced at his annoyed expression, but then his features softened and a small, sideways smile formed on his mouth until it widened. "Oh now it's sweet, very sweet! And I feel a tickle behind the roof of my mouth," he giggled.
You sighed in relief and smiled. Bob wanted to give you back the bottle, but you insisted he keep it and also assured him that you didn't need to pay him anything.
"And Bob.. you no longer need to keep coming to buy incense, you can simply visit me whenever you want for no reason or just to talk to me about your day" you said with surprising affection and gentleness
The brown-haired man looked at you in astonishment but then his eyes softened.
"Besides, I dare say you have a room full of them." You laughed
He imitated you, "Good thing you said that, my friends were already starting to hate me."
Laughter filled the place and then Bob (this time without buying anything) said goodbye to you. He was walking calmly through the streets when, unintentionally, the image of your face stuck in his mind. It was nothing new, but the closer he got to the Watchtower, the harder it was to stop thinking about you. His thoughts were more intense than usual; he began to remember small details, like the way your eyes shone when the sun hit them, how the corner of your lips slowly curved upwards in a smile, the way your fingers moved, sliding on the surface of the counter, and your nails scratching the wood.
When Bob entered the main room he looked so stunned that the others thought something bad had happened to him.
"Bob are you ok?" Bucky said a bit scared and worried
He just nodded, unable to meet anyone's gaze.
"And what happened to the incense this time?" Ava asked.
"Uhh.. they ran out of stock" and after saying this Bob fled to his room before the perplexed gaze of everyone
The brown-haired man abruptly closed the door behind him and leaned back against the wood, sliding slowly until he fell into a sitting position. He looked slightly agitated, as if he had run a marathon, and his face was flushed. A hellish heat rose up his neck, and his stomach felt tickly like the fluttering of hundreds of butterflies. What was wrong with him? Frightened, he put his hand to his forehead, thinking he had a fever, but no, he was fine; at least he wasn't sick. But something was wrong with him. Had he eaten something bad? He wasn't sure.
But despite those annoying symptoms, deep down, he felt a great joy every time he thought of you, as if he were capable of doing anything. Your face invaded his mind again, and suddenly he began to laugh with happiness. At first, it was a soft, airy chuckle, and little by little, it grew into a real belly laugh of joy. Bob couldn't stop, but after a minute, he stopped and became serious again. Something was definitely not right with him.
The following days were an epic journey in the tower and in the lives of everyone around Bob (including himself). He seemed more distracted than usual; whenever someone spoke to him, he would focus his gaze on a fixed point, lost in thought, paying no attention to anything else. Occasionally, in this state, he would let a shy smile appear on the side, and it wasn't until someone snapped their fingers in front of him that Bob would come out of his trance and ask what had happened. But his attention lasted only a few seconds because his gaze would once again wander off into some point on the horizon.
Sometimes he was seen wandering the halls like a zombie, with an erratic and gloomy gait. Other times he sighed so deeply it seemed as if he wanted to test whether he could blow objects away. The other members of the team believed the void wanted to come out again and that Bob was having a bad time again, but nothing could be further from the truth. Bob felt like he was on cloud nine, but he had a strange way of showing it.
"Hey man, are you alright?" Walker asked, genuinely concerned.
Bob shook his head and looked at him as if he was seeing him for the first time, not quite understanding the question "Yes, why?"
But it didn't end there. His visits to your shop became more frequent, and the blue-eyed man was becoming increasingly affectionate with you. His eye contact was prolonged, the touch of his hand against yours was more brazen, and the compliments poured from his tongue like a torrent. You only thought he was beginning to feel comfortable, and in part because you let him know he could come see you as often as he wanted. But when Bob arrived back at the tower, it was a different story. He talked about you all day long, which was strange since he'd never been that talkative.
"She's very kind and has very beautiful hair, she also smells very nice. And her skin looks so soft..." he said, sighing with love.
The others couldn't help but look at him suspiciously, the only one laughing was Alexei clearly understanding what was happening
"Oh come on guys! Our Bob is clearly in love, in fact he's over heels"
"We've never seen him like this before" Bucky said, crossing his arms.
"Well to be fair we never saw him in love" Ava said
Yelena shook her head, agreeing with Bucky: something was strange with Bob. And they all agreed that from that day on, they would keep a close eye on him. And so it was. Every time they were near him, they asked him specific questions about this person, and he would start talking nonstop while Yelena wrote down all the strange symptoms in a notebook. They even noticed that Bob's body was getting slightly warm, as if he had a fever. Alexei noticed this one day when he touched Bob's arm and noticed it was hot.
"Okay, enough, I think we have enough evidence to suspect that Bob is not well," Yelena said sharply.
"Do you think so? I still think he's just yearning for this unknown person.." Walker said, shrugging
"Oh really? And how do you explain the sudden fever in his body? And how sometimes he breathes fast as if he's been running, huh?
To calm the waters and avoid an argument, Bucky raised his voice. "Even if Yelena has a point, we still need more conclusive evidence. While I also believe Bob has something, what we have isn't much."
The blonde huffed, putting her hands on her hips. She hated to admit it, but he was right. What other proof could they get? They sat there mulling over a plan for several minutes when suddenly, Yelena's eagle-eyed gaze noticed a small object on the ground.
"Wait, what is that?" she said pointing at something
The Russian woman trotted behind the sofa and picked something up from the floor. As she held it up for a closer look, everyone noticed it was a glass jar with a cork, no bigger than the palm of her hand and slightly square in shape. She joined the others to look at the object more closely. They all inspected it critically. She uncorked the jar, and even though it was empty, a strong smell of various spices filled everyone's nose. It was so strong that everyone closed their eyes and wrinkled their noses.
"Geez, it smells as strong as Bob's damn incense sticks" Bucky said, covering his already tickly nose.
Click. Now Yelena understood. Bob had started acting strange after returning from the store that time, and that time without buying anything. She shared her theory, and everyone agreed.
"This was the proof we were missing, we have to analyze the bottle" Ava said.
Upon reaching the room, they placed the corked vial into a small, round machine and closed the lid. There were still a few drops of contents inside, which needles began to suck out, while data and files began to load on a screen nearby. The ingredients were displayed before them: honey, rose water, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary. But when they finished loading the data and the machine described the liquid, everyone gasped.
《LOVE POTION》
The only one who laughed amusedly was Alexei, again. "I knew it! Someone has Bob wrapped around their finger. Ha ha!"
Everyone looked at him angrily and he shrugged. Yelena rolled her eyes.
"Can you be serious for once? This is bad, dad."
"Why? Isn't it good that Bob found love? he asked, genuinely confused.
"But not like this! Love can't be forced, Alexei..." Bucky said
"What we have to do now is locate that person and settle a couple of scores" John said threateningly.
They started searching the internet for all the esoteric shops in the area, which in fact weren't many. Two of them had closed permanently, leaving only one left, a couple of blocks away from the building. They all got into Yelena's father's limo and headed there. They were trying to discuss a logical plan.
"We can't all rush in like the army, okay? We'll just scare her off"
"I wouldn't mind doing it, she messed with Bob, now she'll mess with us."
"Maybe she didn't mean any harm!"
Discussion follows discussion, they arrived at the store. It had a sign that said open. The facade was pretty, a large red and white striped awning covered the entrance where various vines and creepers hung.
"It looks like a grandmother's house," Ava said with disgust.
Yelena turned to see her group. "Alright, I'll go in first, okay? And if things get ugly, I'll signal you from inside to come in."
"Wait, wait, why do you have to come in?" Walker complained.
"Uh maybe because I'm the leader, duh?"
"Oh yeah? And who decided that?" Ava confronted her.
"It was literally Valentina, come on Ava don't start now.."
And before anyone else could say anything, Yelena quickly entered the store, leaving the others to grumble. Upon entering, the blonde expected to see someone standing there with a shy or unfriendly expression, but she was surprised to see your sweet face crowned with a friendly smile. The blonde began to doubt whether it was you who had really put Bob under that spell. She approached the counter slowly, looking around with feigned curiosity.
"Good morning and welcome to the house of the lady in red, how can I help you today?"
Yelena thought your kindness was over-rehearsed and felt a little nauseous at how polite you were. She was about to open her mouth, but suddenly the door swung open violently, and John, Bucky, Alexei, and Ava burst into the store, arguing, of course.
"I told you we had to wait for her signal!!"
"I don't give a fuck, I wasn't going to wait out there for two hours!"
Yelena closed her eyes and sighed "сукины дети" (motherfuckers)
You jumped slightly, feeling uncomfortable with so many eyes on you. The shortest of the group turned to the others and raised her hand in a signal to stop, then turned to you. "Listen, we're looking for the owner of this. Do you have any ideas?" she said, taking out the empty vial.
Your smile faded as you stared at the bottle, your face paled, and your features turned deadly serious. Had something bad happened to Bob? You prayed it hadn't. Everyone was waiting for your answer, analyzing your movements. You swallowed nervously. "N-no, I don't know who it belongs to, why?"
You wanted to sound confident, but your nerves betrayed you, and your voice came out choked and shaky. The group looked at each other, and you felt nauseous; you felt like a prisoner about to be shot.
"You're not good at lying, you know? It'll be better for everyone if you tell us the truth." said the man with the metal arm
You paused for a moment, staring at him, and then you realized. You looked at each of them. They were the New Avengers! Of course, how could you have missed it before? But wait, Bob's friends were the New Avengers!? Okay, now you were in serious trouble.
"Wait I know you.. yo are the New Avengers!"
"Don't try to change the subject, tell us where you got this and what you did with Bob or else-!"
"Walker!"
The US agent's words were interrupted by Bucky's bark, which he reluctantly restrained himself from. You looked at everyone in fear; you definitely didn't like that John Walker. Yelenante looked at you, trying to calm things down. "Just tell us everything you know. We promise there won't be any consequences for you. We just want to help Bob."
"Is-is he alright?" You asked worried
"Not really, he's always sighing and talking about you, he says he feels like he's on cloud nine when you look at him," said the brown-haired girl known as Ghost.
Yelena continued. "We analyzed the sample from the bottle and concluded it's a love potion." Her words hit you like a bucket of cold water. What had you done?
The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place, which was why Bob was more affectionate than usual. You covered your mouth, completely horrified. Yelena asked, "Do you have any experience with magic or potions?"
You nodded slowly "Yeah... well I don't consider myself a witch.. I just like working with alchemy, you know, mixing chemicals and stuff" Then as if you had hit the wall of reality you covered your face and said anguished "Oh my God I'm so sorry!! I swear I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I didn't mean to cause any trouble and especially not for Bob!!"
"I don't believe her" John whispered, earning an elbow from Ava.
Alexei took pity on you. "Hey kid, it's okay! Just help us solve this."
"I promise to investigate and do everything possible to reverse this" you nodded vigorously
Everyone was satisfied and left through the door, except for Yelena who placed a hand on yours and said in a low voice "Hey, I really think you're a good person, and Bob thinks so too, please don't lose him."
When she left, you pondered her words. Were you really important to Bob? But it was only because of that stupid potion, right? When it was time to close your shop, you ran to your workshop and desperately searched your entire library for books on love potions, but you found nothing. You had to turn to the internet and an alchemy and witches forum. You searched: love potions, symptoms, and cure. To your horror, you discovered that the ingredients were the same ones you'd used, and rosewater was the most important and key.
Rose water? Something clicked in your mind. Yes, you remembered that time, when you accidentally dropped that bottle because you were thinking about Bob. You quickly read the description of this ingredient.
《Since ancient times, the rose has been considered a symbol of beauty and love. Many legends and stories point to the rose as a symbol of eternal love》.
"Oh come on! Damn it!"
You quickly searched for the cure for this disaster, but as you continued reading, your mood didn't improve. The cure for a love potion was...a kiss of love, of course. A kiss of true love.
"You're fucking kidding me..."
You clutched your head in despair, regretting the day you'd ever wanted to learn alchemy. You swore under your breath, wishing you could disappear. Yeah, maybe that was for the best; you'd move far away, close your shop as if you'd never existed. But you couldn't do that. How stupid was that? It would only make things worse. You sat there, defeated, feeling the weight of the world on your body. How the hell would you explain this to Bob?
. . . . . .
Meanwhile, in the tower, the group exited the elevator, pensive. Bob was already in the lobby. "Where the hell were you? I've been waiting for you all day!"
"Settling scores with someone"
Bucky glared at John, "You don't know when to shut up, do you?"
"what did he mean?"
"Nothing, Bob. Just a last-minute mission"
Bob looked at Yelena frowning "I know when you're lying, tell me the truth"
Everyone sighed and Bucky took charge of explaining everything, Bob looked at him perplexed and a little annoyed "Have you gone crazy? You went to harass someone just because of that?!"
"Didn't you hear what we said? She put a spell on you! Besides, it wasn't harassment.."
Bob raised his hands to the heavens, gathering patience so as not to lose his temper. "I'm a grown man now, I don't need to be babysat! And I didn't need you to butt into my business!"
"Hey, we just wanted to make sure you were okay. We're worried about you."
"Well, you see. I'm perfectly fine."
Bob stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut, leaving his friends alone in the living room in an awkward silence. Inside, Bob threw himself onto his bed, grumbling. Love potion, ha! Yeah, right. He didn't want to even imagine such nonsense; he didn't believe you were capable of doing something like that to him. But doubts began to creep in. What if they were right? What if all those symptoms and ailments really weren't due to an illness, but to your potion? Just thinking about it made Bob feel betrayed and hurt. But he knew perfectly well that you didn't have any bad intentions, and even though his friends had made it clear to him, he'd already sensed it beforehand.
The next day, Bob wanted to clear up that stupid matter once and for all. With a confidence he'd never seen before, he walked into your store. He tried to remain firm and imperturbable, but as soon as he saw you, it was as if his body had dissolved into jelly. His serious expression softened, and his tense body relaxed with a sigh. Despite your smile (this time sadder than usual), he noticed your nervousness. Bob approached you hesitantly. The two of you stood there staring at each other, looking like shy, hormonal teenagers about to confess.
"Uh hello again..." you said awkwardly, avoiding his eyes.
He didn't quite understand why, and suspicions began to swirl inside him. Before he could speak, she blurted out, "I think I know why you're here, and I'm glad you do because I have something to tell you..."
He just looked at her, listening intently with his heart in his hand. "Remember that bottle I gave you a few weeks ago, that was supposedly a detox? Well... I lied." You bit your lip, embarrassed. "You see, I like experimenting with potions. I think you've noticed that my shop is heavily related to alchemy. I was creating a potion recently, but at first, I didn't know what it was for! It was when I gave it to you to try, and well, you know the rest... I'm sorry, it was a love potion. But I swear I didn't know that until yesterday!"
Your face was red with embarrassment and Bob noticed the regret in your voice. Despite all of that, he couldn't get mad at you. On the contrary, he still thought your blushing face was cute. "They visited you yesterday, didn't they?" he simply asked, referring to the New Avengers.
You nodded slowly "But that's not the worst of it... I've checked the cure for this potion, luckily there is one but..." you stopped, you didn't want to tell him
"But..?" He invited you to continue, moving a little closer to the counter, resting his hands on the wood.
"It's just... ugh. The cure is... a kiss of love," you said in such a low voice that you thought he hadn't heard you, but he did.
And now he looked at you, perplexed, now he was the one blushing. You covered your eyes and quickly said, "This is crazy, I know, right? I'm sorry, I know this is awkward. I promise to find another solution!"
He shook his head a few times and touched your arm. You flinched. "No, no, it's okay." Bob cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, if there's no other option... it's not a problem."
Now Bob didn't dare look at you because if he did, he'd start sweating and his blushing would increase. You pushed away from the counter and stood in front of him, noticing he was taller than you. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
He nodded vigorously and dared to look at you, his eyes glassy. Your lower lip trembled slightly, and you stared at your hands, unsure of what to do. "C-could you close your eyes... please?"
He did so and took a deep breath. You stared at him for a few seconds. He was standing there in front of you, his face so far away yet so close at the same time, all it took was a movement to close the gap. You stood on your toes and placed your hands on his shoulders. He trembled slightly at your touch. Your eyes stayed fixed on his lips, hesitating. You looked back at his eyes, making sure they were closed, and slid your gaze back to his closed mouth. You squeezed your eyes shut as if you were about to be hit, and gently placed your lips on his. Bob almost opened his eyes in surprise, but he simply raised his eyebrows and held back a moan. At first, it was a light touch that you didn't intend to prolong, but the longer you remained like that, the more you realized how warm and comforting the sensation was. His soft lips parted slightly, giving you room to deepen the kiss. Their faces relaxed, as did their bodies, and Bob placed his hands on your waist, pulling you closer. Neither of them sped up their pace; it was a kiss as tender and sweet as morning dew that it wasn't intend anything else, nothing lascivious, just pure love.
You broke the magic and moved only a few inches away, your gaze on his lips. When you looked up, he was already looking into your eyes, smiling. You didn't want to part; you could stay in his arms forever.
"Well, it wasn't bad," you said, laughing shyly. "Are you feeling better?"
Bob's eyes expressed a genuine love, never seen before "I've never been better"
You looked at him, smiling a little confused. "You know, I don't think the potion had that much of an effect on me. I mean, I did feel a little different, but I think I always felt the same way about you. And it all started the moment I met you."
Your breath caught in your throat. "You mean..."
"Yes, I didn't want to admit it, but the more I denied it, the stronger it became. I think the potion only intensified what was already there."
You wanted to be pinched, but if it was a dream, you didn't want to wake up because it was too beautiful to be true. You didn't know how long you stood there staring at him in shock, saying nothing. Bob laughed softly.
"Don't worry, you don't have to say anything. I understand if it's not reciprocated, it's just that..-"
You shook your head vigorously, as if trying to get those misconceptions out of his head, and you kissed him again, interrupting him, this time more intensely. With your hands on his neck, Bob kissed you back, hugging your back, and you smiled against his lips.
From that day on you understood that there is no greater magic than true love, because it is capable of breaking invisible barriers and uniting two hearts into one.
Okay, this was really fun to write 🤭, and I'm sorry if it was really long, my hand started writing by itself. Lmao
